CROSSING. 275 



gether, however, the progeny of the first cross will present a 

 queer melange ; but they must undergo a rigid examination, 

 and those whose fleeces conform nearest to the rams should 

 be marked and retained, and those farthest from his excel- 

 lencies, disposed of. The ram may be again put to the same 

 ewes, but a similar result will follow, and selections should 

 be made from the second batch in like manner as from the 

 first. The question now presents itself. What should be done 

 with the ewes of the first cross, which we will suppose old 

 enough to receive the tup ? Should they be put to their sire ? 

 This is certainly revolting, to say the least of it, and yet if 

 it is done, is part and parcel of the in-and-in system. If it 

 is permitted, however, there can be little doubt, that their 

 progeny will approximate more nearly to the sire than if an- 

 other ram equal in all respects had been substituted. This 

 will arise from the first cross possessing much, in a general 

 sense, of his nature, or, in the phraseology of breeders, a 

 " strong dash of blood." Notwithstanding this, and however 

 others may differ, the writer would prefer decidedly using a 

 second ram, as, by so doing, he might correct some trifling 

 defect the original one may have possessed, and which, if 

 used, where the affinity is so extremely close, would exhibit 

 itself in a much stronger type in the second progeny. 



If the second ram has been used, which we will consider 

 the most proper, it will make a second cross, and the prog- 

 eny of this will exhibit also a curious variety of fleeces and 

 forms, being neither one thing nor the other ; indeed, on the 

 whole, will operate to discourage much the breeder, and he 

 will think his object almost unattainable. Some will be, as 

 those of the first cross, pretty good about the shoulders, the 

 fleeces, however, thin ; others will show a dozen, more or 

 less, qualities of wool in their respective fleeces, in short, 

 everything but being right. But the breeder must not be 

 discouraged. Let another ram be procured of equal excel- 

 lence with the first and second, and used for the third cross, 

 and to his great delight, among the progeny he will discover 

 a number which begin to resemble quite closely the object 

 for which he is striving. After each successive cross, he 

 should pursue rigidly his course of selection, for his ultimate 

 triumph will depend greatly on his skill and attention in this 

 respect. The progeny of the fourth cross (at least a good 

 majority of them) will come well up to the mark — not quite, 

 however, as, by critical examination, he will discover some 



